A cobpobation of



June 24, 1930.

G. W. WELLS COMBINED DOOR HOLDER AND BUFFER Filed Sept. 18, 1929Patented June 24, 1930 GEORGE W. WELLS, OF AMESBUR'Y, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WALKER. BODY COMPANY, OF AMESBURY,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS COMBINED DOOR HOLDER ANDBUFFER Application filed September 18, 1929. Serial No. 393,443.

position, devices being of this character gen-.

' erally known as dove tails.

. In the construction of closed body automobiles it has been customaryto provide a dove tail adjacent the middle portion of the door, oradjacent the latch, and to provide a pair of bumpers or bufiers,adjacent the top and bottom of the casing, with which the door isengaged at the end of its closing movement to receive the impact of thedoor when it is closed.

These bumpers usually consist of a piece a of resilient rubber which isarranged to be somewhat compressed when the door is in latched positionand which usually assist in preventing rattling of the door when closedas well as in cushioning its closed movement.

In my pending application, Serial Number 280,123, filed May 24, 1928, Ihave disclosed a form of dove tail which not only brings the door intocorrect alignment with the jamb, if it tends to sag, but also provide aconstruction in which the door holding means is rigidly locked againstup and down movement, and at the same time permits some leeway to theworkman in installing the device in relation to the latching position ofthe door, as distinguishedirom the type previously employed which yieldssufiiciently to permit some up and down movement of the door andconsequent rattling.

The objects of my invention are to provide a form of door holding meanswhich will have the advantages of the dove tail of my said applicationand at the same time will provide a simple and effective bumper, sothat, by installing a pair of said devices, in lieu of the ordinarybumpers, the use of a dove tail may be eliminated and at the same timemore satisfactory results may be secured.

I accomplish these objects, primarily, by

providing a socket device which is so mounted in the j amb that it willyield in the dlrection in which the door swings, and

which is adapted to receive an aligning projection on the door, so thatvthe door will be correctly alignedwith the jamb and will be rigidly heldagainst up and down vibration, the inward movement of the socket devicebeing cushioned, so that the impact of the door when closed will beabsorbed as gradually as is. necessary and the door may be latchedwithin a sufiicient range to enable the work of installation to beperformed without difiiculty.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference is made tothe following specification, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of portions of a door andits jamb in which devices embodying my invention are mounted.

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of a portion of the door.

Fig. 3 is an edge elevation of a portion of the jamb.

Figs. 4 and5 are detail views in perspective of the male and femalemembers, respectively, of the device.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view at line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 7 and 8 are edge views of a portion of the jamb illustrating thecooperative action of the members.

In the drawing the door 10 is indicated as having the usual spring latch11, which engages with the jamb, or door casing 12 when in closedposition, the door being of the usual horizontally swinging type.

According to my invention the jamb is laterally recessed to receive ametal casing 14 of rectilinear form, said casing being open atthe outerside and outer end and being approximately flush with the side and frontsurfaces of the'jamb, and an angular face plate 15 is provided, whichcovers the open side and end of the casing, except that an opening isprovided therein to permit the male member of the device to passtherein, as hereinafter described.

The female member 16 of the device preferably consists of a strip ofstifi metal bent to provide a V-shaped socket at its middle portionhaving converging top and bottom sides 17 and 18, respectively, whichextend inwardly from the outer end of the casing and meet in a roundedmiddle or bottom portion 19, and parallel top and bottom side portions20 and 21, which are closely, but slidably fitted to the top and bottominner sides of the casing, and extend inward.from the outer ends of theconverging portions 17, 18, to points opposite the mlddle portion 19, atwhich point they are bent at right angles towards each other, to formbracing end portions 22, 23, which are respectively engaged with theouter sides of the converging portions 17, 18. A resilient cushion 25,preferably of rubber, is provided in the casing 14 between its inner endwall and the end portions 22, 23, and middle .portion 19 of the member16, the outer end of the member being normally held by said cushion infirm engagement with the inner side of the.

face plate 15.

The male member of the device consists of a metal wedge shapedprojection 26, which is integrally formed with a base plate 27, and thesides of which taper correspondingly to the sides of the socket formedby the portions 17 and 18, said plate 27 being secured to the edge ofthe door insuch a position that, when the door is swung to a closedposition and moves in the path which it is designed to move, withrelation to the jamb, the horizontal plane which bisects,

the angle between the sides 17 18 of the socket, also bisects the anglebetween the top and bottom sides of the wedge, or projection'26, so thatthe top and bottom sides of the latter will simultaneously engage thetop and bottom sides 17, 18 of the socket. The arrangement is such that,when these sides come into engagement, the door will not be quite fullyclosed or latched, so that, on further closing movement of the door, thewhole member 16 will slide inward in the casing 14, causing the cushion9,5 to be compressed until the door moves inward to the point where thelatch will be forced outwardby its spring into the socket of the j amb,as indicated in Fig. 8. The closing movement of the door, is thuseffectively cushioned.

In case the door sags, as it is likely to, after a period of use, theend ortion of the wedge will pass into the soc ret at a level somewhatbelow that of the horizontal bi? secting plane of the socket, so thatthe under side of the wedge will engage the under side 18 of the socketbefore the upper sides thereto engage, as indicated by the dottedposition of the wedge in Fig. 7, and, on further closing movement of thedoor, the wedge will slide upward on the surface of said under side 18,causing the door to be lifted to its correct position, so-that the wedgewill engage both sides of the socket and the whole socket will be forcedinward, as before described.

In case the door sags excessively, so that the frictional engagement ofthe bottom side of the male member with the bottom side 18 of the socketis so reat that the whole female member 16 is 'orced inward, the topside of the socket will be moved inward also, so that, when theresistance of the cushion 25 becomes so great that the frictionalresistance is overcome, the male member will be forced into the socket,lifting the door into correct alignment with the j amb and bringing thetop sides of the male member and socket into engagement, so that thedoor will then be rigidly held against up and down movement.

In practice one of the above described devices is located near thebottom and another near" the top of the door, in the positions in whichthe ordinary bumpers are usually placed, although it will be understoodthat the number used is immaterial. It will also be understood that,while, as a practical matter, it is much more desirable to mount thefemale member, in which the cushion is sufiicientlyto permit the door tolatch, the outward pressure of the cushion will hold the latch firmlyagainst the side of the casing recess into which it extends, so that allrattling of the door is prevented. As the socket yields inward after theprojection on the door becomes firmly wedged therein, some range ofmovement is permitted before the door moves inwardly to a sufiicientextent to permit it to become latched, so that installation of thedevice may be made without difliculty, while at the same time theadvantages of having the door held against up and down movement by meanswhich are rigid are secured, and the necessity of having the holdingmeans slightly yieldable up or down is avoided.

. While a metal spring may be employed in lieu of the rubber cushion,the latter is considered more desirable for practical reasons and it maybe readily renewed, when necessary, by merely removing the face plate 15and the socket 16.

gagement each with the other as the door 100, movement and when thesocket has yielded is closed, said female member bein slidably movablein the direction of sai path and non-movable transversely thereof andhaving its side non-yieldable relatively thereto, and a cushioningdevice arranged to resist inward movement of said female member whenengaged by said male member during said closing movement and to yield topermit the female member to be forced inward by the male member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

' GEORGE W. WELLS.

